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Expanding Access to Sex Education for Youth

March 24, 2014

Carmen Barroso, Regional Director

As many advocates for sexual and reproductive rights can attest, overturning unjust laws and fighting for fair and rights-based policies is an uphill battle that can take months and, in many cases, years. Advocacy requires tenacity, patience, and resources, and victories are often few and far between.

One of the most memorable victories I’ve witnessed was at the 2008 International AIDS Conference in Mexico City. It was there that thirty health and education ministers from Latin America and the Caribbean pledged to dramatically increase young people’s access to comprehensive sexuality education and sexual and reproductive health services by 2015.

In signing the Ministerial Declaration, “Preventing through Education” ministers took the first step toward ensuring the sexual health and rights of all young people in the region. And over the past few years, we have worked in collaboration with Demysex (Mexico) to mobilize local organizations to hold governments accountable to these commitments. Through this regional alliance— the Mesoamerican Coalition for Comprehensive Sexuality Education—we work with more than 50 local organizations and our Member Associations in nineteen countries to raise awareness about the Ministerial Declaration, share best practices, and advocate for supportive policies and funding.

Five years after the historic signing of the Ministerial Declaration, we have seen progress: since 2010, there have been twenty-four policy changes that expand access to comprehensive sexuality education and youth-friendly services in the region. Still, more remains to be done to ensure that these policies—and the funding needed to realize these changes—are implemented.

As we work with our local partners to fill this gap by providing quality and rights-based sexuality education programs throughout the region, we continue to hold governments accountable to the promises they made in Mexico City. To strengthen these efforts, each year we publish an assessment of how far governments have come towards reaching the goals set out in the Declaration. This publication, Evaluation of the Implementation of the Ministerial Declaration, "Preventing through Education" provides advocates with a tool to diagnose the gaps in implementation and ensure government transparency.

With only two years left to meet the Declaration’s targets, it is our hope that this review will offer a constructive dialogue and help generate government actions and financing dedicated to improving the health and rights of young people throughout the region. With today’s generation of young people comprising the region’s largest youth cohort, this work is more urgent than ever.